Chester to Chadds Ford

Link: http://arotus.co/9kr

• Quick Info:
• States: Pennsylvania   
• Railroads: PC, PRR   

The Chester Creek Branch

Point of Interest

	Showing of

Large trestle over Chester Creek and PA 452. This section was abandoned in 1971. The fence was put up on the trestle to discourage trespassing. Photo by Joe Sharretts.

This abandoned railway was built in the late 1860s by the Pennsylvania Railroad. It connected with the main PRR line SW of Philadelphia at Chester, PA, and traveled through Ashton and Lenni, and then linked up with what today is SEPTA's West Chester route. The line diverged a short distance later and traveled along US 1 through Chester Heights, Markham, Ward, and into Chadds Ford. Total route length was 15.2 miles. In 1971, a hurricane washed out portions of both lines, and it was decided that the cost repair was not worth it, and the lines were abandoned. Approximately 90% of the entire line remains intact.

Today, the Octoraro Railway operates the former Reading line from Wilmington, DE, through Chadds Ford Junction (intersecting with this line) and then to Coatesville, PA, on the Philadelphia to Harrisburg main.

See also the western end of this entire right-of-way, The Octoraro Banch, also abandoned.

Thanks to Joe Sharretts for contributing information about this route.

I live near the junction of the PRR main and the Chester Creek. In my opinion they should restore the line and operate it as the Chester Creek Scenic Railroad and extend the West Chester Branch to Downingtown.

Kris
Chester, PA
11/27/2008

____________________

I have an old stretch of rail along the Chester Creek near Brookhaven, PA but there is private property blocking the right of way where the line used to run.

Kris
Chester, PA
12/27/2008

____________________

My sister lives in aston and everytime i go there i always wondered where that big trestle went to and who owned the line. Now i know. Of course they should open the line as a tourist railroad. When i hit the lottery i'm going to hamburg new york to rescue that pennsylvania decapod I1sa # 4483. I'm going to take it to steam town to be restored to running condition and i' m going to need a place to run it. Wouldn't that be great! People from all around the counrty would come to see a real pennsy I1 under it's own steam! joe mignogna magnolia nj

joe mignogna
magnolia, NJ
4/26/2009

____________________

The grade crossing at Ring Road, pictured above, is historically significant as it is the site where the painter N.C. Wyeth was killed in 1945 when struck by a train. The event greatly affected his son Andrew Wyeth and influenced the melancholy nature of his paintings for rest of his life.

Brent Thompson
New London, PA
11/15/2009

____________________

I agree totally with either preserving this historic asset to Delaware County as it sits or making it a Steam Scenic Railway similar to Strasberg's attraction.

Currently, there is a move to rip up the rails (making somebody's pockets a LOT richer) and putting a bike/walking trail which, time will show, will be abandoned not long after it is opened.

Let's try to head up a committee to stop this destruction of our rich past.

Steve
Brookhaven, PA
2/23/2010

____________________

recently visited the Newlen grist mill, and saw the abandoned track. wonder if there were any insulators used or found on the right of way?

tom w.
somers point, NJ
10/1/2010

____________________

There are some great spots along the branch where track is still intact. The bad news is...most of the property along the right-of-way is now owned by business or residenial property. I know a Penn Central enginer who once made a delivery along the ROW, but this was back in 1969, and well, by then, many of the customers had left, leaving the line with very meager freight traffic. He did tell me, that in 1970, Penn Central ran a caboose hop along the line to Wawa, and then it continued along the Octararo Branch to Kennet Square. Plus, before I forget, he always told me, that back in Pennsylvania Railroad times, the line had a constant struggle with keeping business as times changed with the ever growing battle with trucks. Penn Central surprisingly, wanted to abandon the line in 1969, but other things got in the way. I traveled the line once in 1954, with him, back when PRR employed him and he was right. We took a Baldwin DS-4-10 and had two boxcars (NYC and CB&Q, respectively), and an N5 caboose. We were working along the line, and nearly everywhere we went, we saw trucks. He said to me, 'Kris, I don't think the old Chester Creek has got long left.' and I told him, 'You're crazy! This line will survive until the end of times.' and then Agnes came and well, I ate my words. Plus, I have another story from a ride along. It was June 1968, and we have transitioned from PRR to PC. Using a former New York Central RS3, he was sent to fetch cars along the line, and well, none of the cars were loaded and come to find out, the business men never had the cars loaded and instead had trucks come and ordered the guys to load the trucks instead. He was so mad, that when we got to Philadelphia, he dropped the train off and took a bus to Suburban Station (not directly, of course) and he told the manager of freight operations and well, the owners were forced to load both freight cars and trucks, until Penn Central made up its mind.

Jack
Los Angeles, CA
11/7/2010

____________________

HAA I drive home from work everyday along the line from Rolandsville to Rising Sun everyday ! Often wonder if they thought of making this a sorta commuter rail line from Say Sylmar to the NS port. line to Baltimore ???? mabye it would ease the commuter traffic on I 95??? humm just a thought??

erik Fletcher
Rising Sun , MD
12/29/2010

____________________

A Railpace article from April 1984 described this line. Evidently the entire route was taken out of service after hurricane Agnes in 1971, and service wasn't restored to the middle segment (Sylmar to Chadds Ford Jct.) until 1977.

Mike Palmer
L A County, CA
1/4/2011

____________________

Unfortunately, the line is owned by trail-loving SEPTA. The Friends of the Chester Creek Branch managed to convince the townships along the line that a trail will help commuters get to the Wawa Station on the West Chester line---whose reopening is now on hold. See link here for the "benefits" and why DelCo desperately needs another trail as the expense of a viable transportation link. http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2010/02/21/news/doc4b80ae0df3eae627384471.txt

As one expert put it, "A relatively high-grade piece of infrastructure has been diverted (temporarily, one would hope) to a relatively low-grade purpose. It's like taking over an expressway to use for someone's driveway."

Robert
Phoenixville, PA
5/26/2011

____________________

in the second photo you got the town name wrong its aston,PA. Also today in the second photo the tracks been removed to make a trail through the wood. Also the trestle in the first photo has another over the same river but the river curved and the tracks did the same.

christopher palmer
aston, PA
4/9/2012

____________________

in brookhaven a torn apart(you can ell most of it was from hurricane agnes flooding) bridge/trestle is still intact. it left trails and once made a grade over where bridgewater RD and west brookhaven RD connect (about 6-10 meters before) and aston to the right side of the bridgewater grade their either making a trail or redoing the line

christopher palmer
aston, PA
4/28/2012

____________________

Share: Tweet